Mollie Tibbetts persons of interest: Documents show who they were, and why four were cleared

Learn more about the background of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, the man charged with abducting and killing Iowan Mollie Tibbetts.
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A poster with information about Mollie Tibbetts, a missing 20-year-old University of Iowa student, hangs in the window on a business in downtown Brooklyn on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in eastern Iowa.(Photo: Kelsey Kremer/The Register)Buy Photo

Before investigators arrested a farmhand in the death of Iowa runner Mollie Tibbetts, they scrutinized a neighbor seen washing his car hours after she vanished, an acquaintance who erased his cellphone data, a Nebraska man who ditched his vehicle nearby and a farmer with a history of stalking women.

Newly unsealed search warrants reviewed by the Associated Press reveal that four men were the subject of police interest at times during the five-week search for the missing 20-year-old University of Iowa student. The documents provide new details about how Tibbetts' July 18 disappearance in the town of Brooklyn stumped agents as the mystery became the focus of national media coverage and one of the largest investigations in state history.

The suspect ultimately charged in Tibbetts' death, Cristhian Bahena Rivera, did not come on their radar until shortly before he allegedly led them to her body in a cornfield in August.

Investigators say Bahena Rivera, 24, followed Tibbetts in a car and then on foot as she was out for an evening run, kidnapped her after a struggle and stabbed her to death. Rivera was identified as a suspect after officers found surveillance footage showing a Chevy Malibu that they later linked to him. Bahena Rivera, who is scheduled to stand trial, is a Mexican national who was allegedly in the U.S. illegally.

Before then, investigators had focused attention on four others in the suspected kidnapping based on circumstances and seemingly suspicious behavior. They faced police interviews, searches of their vehicles and property, and scrutiny of their cellphone data before agents determined they had nothing to do with Tibbetts' disappearance.

"It was not a fun thing to go through, that's for sure," said Tim Tometich, 42, who lives along the running route where Tibbetts was last seen. "But we all wanted her found and home safe and obviously understand they had a job to do and needed to track down every lead they had."

Tometich drew attention after agents obtained surveillance footage from a Brooklyn car wash showing him washing a dark-colored SUV at 10:30 p.m. on July 18, hours after Tibbetts vanished. But he told investigators that he wasn't at the car wash until three days later and that his credit card information would show that. A state agent seeking a warrant to obtain Tometich's phone data alleged that claim was "untruthful" based on video and business records. Tometich declined to comment about that.

All the men were later ruled out as suspects through further investigation, said Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Division of Criminal Investigation.

Kevin Winker, director of investigative operations at the Iowa Department of Public Safety, speaks during a news conference about the search for Mollie Tibbetts on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, outside the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. Luke Nozicka/The Register

Kevin Winker, director of investigative operations at the Iowa Department of Public Safety, speaks during a news conference about the search for Mollie Tibbetts on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, outside the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. Luke Nozicka/The Register

Mollie Tibbetts' mother, Laura Calderwood, listens as reporters as questions about the search for her daughter on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, outside the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. FBI Special Agent in Charge Randy Thysse stood next to her. Luke Nozicka/The Register

Kevin Winker, director of investigative operations at the Iowa Department of Public Safety, speaks during a news conference about the search for Mollie Tibbetts on Friday, Aug. 3, 2018, outside the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. Luke Nozicka/The Register

Mitch Mortvedt, assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, talks to reporters Monday, Aug. 13, 2018, about the investigation into the disappearance of 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts during a news conference outside the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. Luke Nozicka / The Register

Dalton Jack, the boyfriend of Mollie Tibbetts who has been missing from her Brooklyn, Iowa, home for weeks, hands out posters with Mollie's photo at a booth under the grandstand on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave/The Register

Dalton Jack, the boyfriend of Mollie Tibbetts who has been missing from her Brooklyn, Iowa, home for weeks, hands out posters with Mollie's photo at a booth under the grandstand on Friday, Aug. 10, 2018, during the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave/The Register

Mollie Tibbetts' father Rob Tibbetts talks about the search for the missing 20-year-old University of Iowa student during an interview Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Grinnell, Iowa. Rodney White/The Register

Mollie Tibbetts' father Rob Tibbetts(left) and her boyfriend Dalton Jack talk about the search for the missing 20-year-old University of Iowa student during an interview Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Grinnell, Iowa. Rodney White/The Register

Mollie Tibbetts' father Rob Tibbetts(left) and her boyfriend Dalton Jack talk about the search for the missing 20-year-old University of Iowa student during an interview Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018, in Grinnell, Iowa. Rodney White/The Register

Kevin Winker, Director of investigative operations at the Iowa Department of Public Safety, speaks to the media during a news conference discussing updates in the search for missing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, outside of the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Kevin Winker, Director of investigative operations at the Iowa Department of Public Safety, speaks to the media during a news conference discussing updates in the search for missing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, outside of the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Friends and family of Mollie Tibbetts walk into the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office before a news conference to discuss updates in the search for the missing 20-year-old on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, in Montezuma. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Local and national media and members of the community gather outside the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office during a news conference to discuss updates in the search for missing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, in Montezuma. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Friends and family of Mollie Tibbetts wear shirts with information about the search for her to a news conference to discuss updates in the search for the missing 20-year-old on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, outside of the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Poweshiek County Sheriff Tom Kriegel speaks to the media during a news conference to discuss updates in the search for missing 20-year-old Mollie Tibbetts, on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, outside of the Poweshiek County Sheriff's Office in Montezuma. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

A poster with information about Mollie Tibbetts, a missing 20-year-old University of Iowa student, hangs in the window on a business in downtown Brooklyn on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in eastern Iowa. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

A poster with information about Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student who went missing last week, hangs in the window on a business in downtown Brooklyn on Tuesday, July 24, 2018, in eastern Iowa. Kelsey Kremer/The Register

Car magnets printed by Live Now Designers in Brooklyn, Iowa, pictured on July 22, 2018. Community members continue to search for Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old Iowan who was last seen on July 18, 2018. Matthew Leimkuehler/The Register

"In any investigation we come across people who raise an eyebrow to us. They have absolutely nothing to do with the issue we're investigating, but their behavior draws your attention for a short amount of time," he said. "There was a handful of those scattered throughout the five weeks."

Rivera's attorney, Chad Frese, said that he's aware of the individuals described in the warrants but that it's premature to comment on defense strategy.

Mortvedt said the farmer was of interest longer than others, in part because he gave multiple attention-grabbing media interviews in which he denied involvement but acknowledged his criminal history. He allowed agents to question him and search his home and property outside of Brooklyn, about 200 yards from where investigators determined that Tibbetts' cellphone dropped off the network.

The home of Wayne Cheney can be seen Monday, Aug. 6, 2018, in Deep River in rural Poweshiek County.(Photo: Luke Nozicka/)

The investigation was driven by technology from the beginning. Tibbetts' phone records indicated that her rate of movement on a rural road near Brooklyn sped rapidly, as if she went from running to traveling in a car. Investigators then obtained a warrant requiring Google to provide data showing which users could be tracked to that vicinity.

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Left: Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, listens during his arraignment Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma. Right: Mollie Tibbetts can be seen in a photograph provided by her family.(Photo: Register file photos)

One of four such Google customers was a 17-year-old who was Facebook friends with Tibbetts. The teen's brother was on the same construction crew as Tibbetts' boyfriend, who was out of town when she vanished, so investigators assumed he may have known Tibbetts was home alone. The teen told agents he was at home July 18, but later said he may have been mowing a cemetery. He raised suspicion when he told agents that he had recently "wiped" his smartphone of all stored data and didn't have it on him.

The focus of intense interest early on was a 58-year-old Stanton, Nebraska man, who arrived at a car dealership 30 miles east of Brooklyn on July 20. The man told a salesman that he was driving to visit a foreign girlfriend while she was in Indiana but that his 1989 Chevy Grand Marquis was having transmission trouble, according to search warrant materials. He bought a used car for $3,500 and left the Chevy there, taking its license plates and a small bag with him. He said he would be back for the Chevy — which a witness said resembled a suspicious vehicle she saw near Tibbetts' home on July 18 — but didn't leave contact information.

Agents searched the vehicle after seeing a reddish spot in the backseat. They found hairs, including dark ones that they thought could have belonged to Tibbetts, and sent them to the crime lab for examination. They obtained warrants for information from the man's two Facebook accounts, one of which liked the pages of dozens of scantily clad female athletes and models.

But Mortvedt said nothing in the car tied him to Tibbetts, and the man was ruled out as a suspect.

"Once we started to dive into a few of them, everybody as a team felt confident that we were safely eliminating them," he said.

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Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, has been charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death. Here he is brought into the Poweshiek County Courthouse on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is lead from the courtroom after making his initial appearance on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, looks to his attorney Allan Richards as he makes his initial appearance on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Defense attorney Allan Richards argues to exclude expanded media coverage from the initial appearance of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, before magistrate Diane Crooklyn-Johnson in the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Magistrate judge Diane Crooklyn-Johnson presides over the initial appearance of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Defense attorney Allan Richards gesturers towards the jury box and the assembled media as he argues to exclude expanded media coverage from the initial appearance of Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, before magistrate Diane Crooklyn-Johnson in the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is charged with first-degree murder in the death of University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, responds to a question from magistrate judge Diane Crooklyn-Johnson as he makes his initial appearance on a charge of first-degree murder during at the Poweshiek County Courthouse in Montezuma, Iowa, on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018. Rivera is accused of killing University of Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts. Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette/Pool

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, leaves the Poweshiek County Courthouse after was being charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is put in a Sheriff's truck outside the Poweshiek County Courthouse after was being charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, is driven away from the Poweshiek County Courthouse after was being charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma. Brian Powers/The Register

esus Gamboa, a friend of Mollie Tibbetts speaks to members of the media outside the Poweshiek County Courthouse after Cristhian Bahena Rivera, 24, was charged with first-degree murder in Mollie Tibbetts' death on Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2018 in Montezuma.
Brian Powers/The Register